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Athens-Clarke commissioners plot new tax to fund transit, economic development

Athens-Clarke County Commissioners Allison Wright and Mike Hamby will draft language in coming weeks to ask the state legislature to let the county assess a new tax to pay for transit and economic development efforts.

The concept kicked around at Tuesday’s non-voting work session of the mayor and commission was for an additional sales tax. If the request passed the full commission, it would ask the local state legislative delegation to take up the issue with the General Assembly in its upcoming session.

The commissioners still need to draft specific language, but Commissioner Kathy Hoard pitched describing it as a tax for economic development tools including public transportation, though she didn’t explicitly support it. Others said it could be like the regional special-purpose local option sales tax for transportation projects that failed across most of the state in a recent referendum. While the referendum failed in the region including Athens-Clarke County, a majority of Athens-Clarke voters supported the proposed levy, which included specific projects for the money to be spent on.

The suggestion by Wright follows a presentation at a prior work session from the director of Athens Transit director that predicted budget shortfalls in coming years.

Hamby signed onto the effort, and suggested broadening it to include economic development tools, though he acknowledged it may be a fruitless effort.

“I think I know what (the legislature’s response) is going to be, but I feel kind of ‘you already know the answer if you don’t ask,’” Hamby said.

Mayor Nancy Denson laid out her initial reaction simply: “I’m not excited about a new tax being proposed.”

She noted that Athens is already losing retail components of the local economy to Oconee County, alluding to the Epps Bridge Centre sapping business from Georgia Square mall and the Atlanta Highway.

But sometimes, you have to take the unpopular route, Commissioner Andy Herod said.

“I don’t think anyone is excited about it, but sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” he said.

The commission also wants to realign its election to that of general elections — but not before aligning its state and local primary and nonpartisan elections with federal elections. A recent ruling by a U.S. district judge found the state of Georgia in violation of federal election law aimed at protecting the rights of overseas military personnel. As a result, the state’s federal primary election was moved to May 20, 2014, with a July 22 runoff if needed; the state and local primaries remained set for July 15 and an Aug. 5 runoff. That means an extra election to pay for and potential voter confusion, according to a county report. It would also cost the county about $55,000 for an additional primary election and $38,000 if an additional runoff was needed.

The commissioners also pitched asking to move the nonpartisan mayor and commission election to hold it in conjunction with the November general election, a holdover from the commission’s 2013 legislative request.

Herod noted the amount of time between a commissioner’s election and that person taking office if only the first option, aligning state and federal primary elections, took effect.

“That’s an awful long time to have a lame-duck commissioner,” he said.

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